Mehdi Benatia

[sgerlat]

Anyway Jesus Navas would be a nice replacement. Is he for sale?

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

Money obviously wasn't the problem, it was purely down to a footballing decision. Mangala was a better fit for us, we think really longterm here.

I think he means Roma wouldn't pay big wages to Nasty when they could just pay it and keep Benatia.

That's what I meant.

Ljajic to whomever looks good to me, he's talented but he's not suited for a 4-3-3. He's a secondary striker in a 4-4-2/3-5-2 or he may play as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 behind the main striker.

He could be replaced with the expiring Konoplyanka/Yarmolenko, I'd love to.

P.s. Is there any good winger in PL with sustainable wage who is worth netting?

You could of had Nani, and the scum would of paid his wages. Oh... you said good.
Just wondering, just how good is Pjanic? What sort of player is he and how does he compare to your other midfielders (Totti, De Rossi, Strootman, Nianggolan etc)?

 

[BlueDeadHead]

Anyway Jesus Navas would be a nice replacement. Is he for sale?

Unlikely...he is the only one in the squad that can do what he does. That said for the right price anyone could be for sale.

 

[sgerlat]

I think he means Roma wouldn't pay big wages to Nasty when they could just pay it and keep Benatia.

That's what I meant.

Ljajic to whomever looks good to me, he's talented but he's not suited for a 4-3-3. He's a secondary striker in a 4-4-2/3-5-2 or he may play as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 behind the main striker.

He could be replaced with the expiring Konoplyanka/Yarmolenko, I'd love to.

P.s. Is there any good winger in PL with sustainable wage who is worth netting?

You could of had Nani, and the scum would of paid his wages. Oh... you said good.
Just wondering, just how good is Pjanic? What sort of player is he and how does he compare to your other midfielders (Totti, De Rossi, Strootman, Nianggolan etc)?

We really play well with Totti as "falso nueve", he's like everywhere on the pitch so you can't really predict his positioning and there's no one better than him at laying his team-mates on goal. Problem is Gervinho is not that accurate, although he's improving, and Iturbe has just arrived, we don't really know what to expect from him, I'd say 8-10 goals like the Ivorian, plus Totti plays too far from the goal and he's 38yo, too aged. In Serie A is fine, we somehow score, in Champions we need someone in there, Destro is the only one we have and he's not a certainty too.

Regarding the midfielders they are all very different and complementary, no one is like PJanic.

Nainggolan is a hustler, has exceptional stamina, unreal phisicality despite his height and he bites your ankles like a pitbull but I expected him, even though I can't complain about his performances, to be slightly better at creating opportunities, he's passing range is a bit limited. Anyway very aggressive player and good replacement. He should be shaped after De Rossi as deep-lying midfielder who just initiates the manouvre, however, it doesn't seem to have that kind of attitude, he's not apt to cover up the defenders' mistakes, which it's key for us considering our aggressive line.

That's why De Rossi is pivotal to our game, he does that perfectly, he's the 3rd CB when we play the high line, he's our metronome. Furthermore I have to say I'm a bit concern about his healty, age is catching up with him, he has past his prime. Keita is a cheap and experienced back-up though, winning mentality.

Pjanic is just class, pure class and he's finally showing it. Amazing skills, vision, awarness of his teammates and free-kick accuracy, ala Juninho Pernambucano. Old school kind of player who sometimes tends to please himself too much, this combined with an average pace concerns me in Europe, he could be dangerous when the opponents are counter-attaking, he could cost us a goal. He has great carisma but tends to be outshined and lose focus when Totti is commading the game, he suffers the captain's ego, he needs to step up in his presence.

Strootman is box-to-box, humble and aggressive, you'll become an instant fan the first minute his steps on the court. Great strenght, shot power, passing range and work-rate, team player. He also became Holland's captain at a very young age (22yo), despite the presence of Robben, Van Persie and Snejder, that says it all. Garcia has nicknamed him "the washing machine", I couldn't agree more, "if there's something wrong he'll fix it". What I like most about him are his reading skills. He slows down the other team when they counterattack, he temporizes, is there a name for this skill? He basically presses the ball carrier and allows the teammates to recover their ideal positions. His speed is just ok.

I can't judge Ucan, I'm seriously biased when I talk about him. Brilliant and quick thinker, just like Totti, who sometimes is too much adead even for his teammates, he goes beyond the ordinary. He might be better than Pjanic, better on the defensive end but that's just my impression, it's too early.

To sum up, midfield is our strenght the only concern is we are enough dynamic for the european's standard, fortunately Gervinho and Iturbe have great work-rate and pace and will cook their asses off, this is essential in order to succeed. It's a very delicate mechanism.

 

[BongoBlue]

Ahaha wow, you guys really are in sync, I'm impressed.

Regarding Scott I wouldn't take him even if he was for free, but thanks anyway.

Dammit...and we would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddlin' kids...

Well you rumbled us sgerlat mate...:)

 

[sgerlat]

We have supposedly reached an agreement for Chiriches, just €8m, a bargain if corfirmed.

If we can get him without selling Benatia we're looking great, we may even sit him the whole season and do just fine.

 

[bluechampion7891]

We have supposedly reached an agreement for Chiriches, just €8m, a bargain if corfirmed.

If we can get him without selling Benatia we're looking great, we may even sit him the whole season and do just fine.

thats a really stupid sale from tottenham...he was a good player

 

[carlos tevez is a blue]

Roma's DS and General manager are hopping a flight to London... Anything could happen ranging from Benatia to Chelsea/Rags, Destro to Tottenham, Chiriches to Rome, Nastasic or jovetic to Rome, or Ljajic to whomever

Nice knees.

 

[sgerlat]

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-extern/stranieri/chiriches-devine-jucatorul-romei-tottenham-si-a-dat-acordul-pentru-transfer-romanul-il-va-inlocui-pe-marocanul-benatia-13132982" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-extern/st ... a-13132982</a>

His first coach says he's happy with his move to Roma. I think we signed him, why would Georgescu speak otherwise?

Strong move by the club, now Bayern is either raising their bid to at least 35 or Benatia is in trouble, 4 years without playing is a long time.

Of course I can't deny we're going to miss him if he doesn't play, but the iron hand is what we need right now.

 

[Instant_Offense]

http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-extern/stranieri/chiriches-devine-jucatorul-romei-tottenham-si-a-dat-acordul-pentru-transfer-romanul-il-va-inlocui-pe-marocanul-benatia-13132982

His first coach says he's happy with his move to Roma. I think we signed him, why would Georgescu speak otherwise?

Strong move by the club, now Bayern is either raising their bid to at least 35 or Benatia is in trouble, 4 years without playing is a long time.

Of course I can't deny we're going to miss him if he doesn't play, but the iron hand is what we need right now.

United fans on twitter crowing that they are meeting with his reps. Can't find any "legitimate" reports.